


SAHD (Stay-At-Home Demon)

by SuperBlondie



Series: Real People Who Pissed Off Demons (And Paid for It) [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Child antics, Comfort, Demon!Yifan, Fluff, Just lots of fluff, M/M, Winnie the Pooh - Freeform, and ksoo is a sniffly baby, for some reason, honestly just comfort, kid!kyungsoo, kid!zitao, luhan is there for like a hot second, mostly just kid fluff, no hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperBlondie/pseuds/SuperBlondie
Summary: Yifan is one hell of a father. (Kyungsoo says so too. Yifan would know, he's gotten very good at deciphering baby babbling.)





	SAHD (Stay-At-Home Demon)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Demons Aren't Real](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13183119/chapters/30154002)! You can sort of read it as a standalone I guess, but I'd recommend you read Demons Aren't Real first so you know what's happening hahaha
> 
> As always, thank you [Aarushi](https://twitter.com/AarushiC_18) for being my beta!!!

"Mm?" Yifan blinks against the morning light, still half in a dream of spending a Saturday morning curled up with Junmyeon in bed. It's his favorite recurring dream, soft and warm and full of Junmyeon. And there's the man himself when Yifan's eyes finally focus, even more beautiful than his dreams can ever hope to recreate.

Junmyeon smiles and leans in for a kiss. Yifan's feels happiness grow like a balloon in his chest. He thought Junmyeon's smile and his sweet, sweet kisses would stop affecting him like this, but four years later and they still turn his whole world upside down. Not that he'd ever have it any other way. "I said I'm leaving for work," Junmyeon murmurs and leans his head into Yifan's hand at his cheek, "You need to get up and check on Kyungsoo. I'd bring him in here but I don't want to wake him up."

Yifan hates weekdays. That's not true; weekdays are when he gets Kyungsoo all to himself and can actually focus on getting work done. He hates that Junmyeon has to go to work though. He'd keep his human with him every second of the day if he thought he could get away with it. But he can't. Junmyeon loves his job too much and Yifan would lose his mind if he didn't get his few hours of peace when Kyungsoo naps.

So he whines like a child but pushes himself up anyway. And Junmyeon gives him another kiss for his trouble.

"Mom, we're gonna be late," Zitao whisper-yells as he sticks his head in their doorway. Yifan will always be grateful that Junmyeon's first lesson about having a baby brother was how to be quiet when the baby is sleeping. "Bye bye, Ba, love you," Zitao pretends to run back down the hallway, mischief clear and playful in his eyes.

"Nope, not good enough," Yifan throws off the blankets and starts levering himself out of bed. Zitao smiles that big, big smile Yifan wants to frame – he already has a picture of Zitao smiling that same smile with one of his front teeth missing on his desk – and launches himself onto the mattress.

Yifan misses when Zitao was small enough to comfortably tuck under one arm and carry around like a sack of flour. But he can't change the passage of time, so he takes the kiss and hug he gets, holding on a little longer to ruffle Zitao's hair with his free hand. Zitao whines, but it's all good-natured; they do this every morning and Zitao complains more on the days when he doesn't mess up his hair.

"Much better," Yifan lets him go and he crawls back off the bed, tugging Junmyeon with him to the door, "Have a good day at school, TaoTao."

"It's just a half-day. I'll be back before lunch."

"Doesn't mean I won't miss you. I always miss you and your mother when you're gone."

Zitao rolls his eyes and Yifan blames Luhan. He blames Luhan and Baekhyun for a lot of the habits his oldest son has picked up. They blame him in return. But nobody blames Junmyeon even though he is the sole reason Zitao cheats at literally every game they play together. Whoever's fault it is, it feels like Zitao is eight going on eighteen sometimes.

Junmyeon grabs his bag, stuffed full of papers he had brought home to grade last night before Kyungsoo came down with a cold, and waves goodbye. He's every bit as perfect as he was when Yifan first saw him walking up to the house. His entire world had whirled on its axis and finally settled into place. Even as Junmyeon disappears down the hallway, he's counting the hours until he gets to hold him again.

Junmyeon stops short before he's completely out of view and leans back to blow a kiss, "See you later, Fan, have a good day. Call me if anything happens with Soo, I love you!"

Yifan pretends to snatch the kiss out of the air, so grossly in love it's nearly tangible. "Love you too, darling. And you too, Tao. Come back soon, I miss you already." Junmyeon rolls his eyes, an exact mimicry of Zitao. They need to start blaming Junmyeon for this shit, it's his fault and they're all just blinded by his sweet face.

And they say demons are the evil ones in the world. Yifan can think of three humans off the top of his head that are ten times more conniving than their demons will ever be, and one of them is his husband.

The front door clicks shut and Yifan finally forces himself out of bed. Kyungsoo's going to wake up any minute and he should be there when he opens his eyes. Kyungsoo usually doesn't need to be held the second he wakes, not like the baby Jinyoung and Jaebum adopted a few months back. From the stories he's heard from Mark and Jackson, Yugyeom used to scream if one of his parents wasn't right there when he opened his eyes. It's been easier since he's gotten older apparently, but Yifan is still very happy that he has his little Kyungsoo and not Jinyoung and Jaebum's baby.

Yifan eases the door to Kyungsoo's nursery open and feels his heart sink. He knows he hears a bit better than most humans, or that's what Junmyeon tells him whenever he whines that Zitao has the TV on too loud, but he can still hear Kyungsoo wheeze from the doorway. It had come on suddenly. Kyungsoo had been fussier than usual yesterday morning, a little needier, but Yifan hadn't thought anything of it. Kyungsoo is more independent than most children his age and Yifan enjoyed getting to snuggle his baby.

And then Kyungsoo woke up from his nap with one nostril stuffed up and the other leaking snot like it was getting paid for it. His chest wasn't much better, but Yifan can't think about the way he coughs and wheezes without tearing up. Yifan can’t make deals with babies; they’re too young to understand the idea of a deal and the universe or whatever is the source of his power refuses to take advantage of that. And for all of Yixing's power, there have always been things that he couldn't heal. One of those things just happens to be the common cold, leaving Yifan helpless to do anything but help Kyungsoo through it the human way. Junmyeon's much better at it; he'd spent a few hours in the rocking chair with Kyungsoo crying on his chest last night instead of grading papers.

But now it's just him with Kyungsoo and he's terrified. He's not an inept father or anything. Junmyeon wouldn't let him near their children if he was. Yifan is just too used solving problems with deals and his powers setting everything back in their rightful places. He doesn't know what to do with the problems he just has to wait out. He's learning, but it's one hell of a learning curve.

Just as he thought, Kyungsoo is blinking himself awake, yawning and stretching out his chubby arms and legs. Babies were not something Yifan ever thought he'd be fond of. They scream and are so messy it physically hurts him to watch Kyungsoo eat sometimes. But Kyungsoo is so chubby and little. It's like holding that weird dough-boy creature he sees in commercials sometimes. Except not fucking creepy. Kyungsoo could never be creepy, not with his soft, squishy cheeks and round little tummy that shouldn't be as adorable as it is when Yifan watches him toddle around the living room in just his diaper.

Yifan picks Kyungsoo up the moment the baby reaches for him, whining high in his throat for attention. "Good morning, Soo," he coos, "how's my baby feeling today? Is your nose still all runny?"

"Baba," is all he gets in reply. Kyungsoo doesn't talk much, even for a sixteen-month-old. He knows more words than he can say like every other toddler, but it's still rare to hear him say anything more than _Baba_ , _Mama_ , or _AoAo_. Yifan likes to think that Kyungsoo is just saving all his energy to say the really important words. He also takes a lot of pride in the fact that his youngest son said _Baba_ first.

"At least you don't have a fever," Yifan sighs when Kyungsoo starts coughing. He settles back down with a whine and Yifan feels his heart break just a little. "What am I saying? I'm so sorry you're sick, baby. I wish I could fix it for you." He'd rather be twice as sick as Kyungsoo is now if it meant that he could wipe that uncomfortable frown off his face.

Kyungsoo reaches for him when Yifan sets him on the changing table, big tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "I know," Yifan shushes, "I know. Just have to change you really fast and then I'll pick you back up. It's okay, Soo, I'm right here; Baba's not going anywhere." He still hiccups out a few tears. He pouts and doesn't smile in the slightest when Yifan leans down to blow a raspberry against his belly. And if Yifan wasn't so anal about diaper changes he could have Kyungsoo up and in his arms in barely more than a minute; he has a routine to prevent diaper rash though, and he'll be damned if he leaves his baby even a little dirty.

"Ba-!" Kyungsoo sneezes, which sets off another coughing fit and Yifan works in double time to fasten the buttons of his onesie. It's not as long as the last one, but Kyungsoo's not warm and snug in Yifan's arms when this one ends so he takes a deep breath in after the last cough and _sobs_.

"Oh, oh no. It's okay, it's okay! You don't have to cry, sweetheart, I'm right here." How did Junmyeon do this last night? How have either of them managed to sit with Zitao when he gets sick without wearing out their nerves? It hasn't even been ten minutes but Yifan's already exhausted. Not as tired as Kyungsoo must be, but still tired enough to make him want to settle back down for a nap.

"See? All better. You're all clean and Baba's here and it's all okay," Yifan coos and scoops Kyungsoo up again. Kyungsoo's cries taper off when he grabs his father's sleep shirt in his little, chubby fists and he rubs his tear-streaked, snot-covered face into Yifan's collarbones. "All better. No need to cry. There we go. Baba wouldn't leave you alone when you feel so icky. No, he wouldn't. No no no, I'd never leave you, Soo-bear."

Kyungsoo blinks up at him and there's that smile. There's a good chance Kyungsoo's smiles could bring about world peace. Yixing, who doesn’t soften for anyone but Baekhyun, agreed wholeheartedly when Kyungsoo smiled at him for the first time with just one tooth poking through his bottom gums.

"Winnie the Soo, Winnie the Soo. I really wish your mother hadn't showed me this song," Yifan does his best to stay on rhythm and Kyungsoo watches him like he watches the show itself, mouth hanging open and eyes glazed over. Though there's always the chance that the glassy eyes are from the cold and not because Kyungsoo actually enjoys listening to him sing.

But Yifan really does wish that Junmyeon hadn't bolted up in bed one night and said, " _Holy shit, Yifan! I figured out why I call him Soo-bear. It's Pooh bear, from the Winnie the Pooh!"_ It's partially his fault though, he could have just nodded and pulled Junmyeon back down to sleep. Instead, he asked what the fuck a Pooh bear was and spent the next hour being given a crash course in a show that now consumes his every waking hour. The only reason Kyungsoo isn’t clutching his stuffed Pooh at this exact moment is because the poor thing is drying out in the laundry room after being thoroughly soaked with snot and sent through an emergency rinse cycle.

Yifan shifts Kyungsoo a little higher up his chest and lets his free hand pet through the toddler's hair as he wanders into the kitchen. "We can put on your show in a little while. I want you to eat something first though. Yixing called his friend Jongdae - he's a doctor just for kids like you and Tao - and Dae said that we should try to make sure we keep giving you food easy on your tummy."

Kyungsoo just reaches up for a kiss. Yifan gives it to him, of course, a quick peck on the cheek far far away from the dried snot around his mouth. He needs to clean that off. He really needs to clean that off, but Kyungsoo is much more agreeable to having a warm washrag on his face after he has a full belly.

"Eggs and peaches or some of the rice cereal Mama picked up at the store last week?" Kyungsoo's eyes brighten at _peaches_. As expected. Zitao and Kyungsoo don't even have any of Junmyeon's DNA and they both picked up his sweet tooth. "Peaches it is, like every morning," Yifan laughs and grabs a peach out of the fridge, setting the toddler in his highchair and dragging it over to the counter before he has a chance to whine, "the deal is that you have to eat eggs or something else besides peaches. Oh, don't give me that look, Mr. Soo, you need to eat lots of foods or you'll never grow big and strong.”

Kyungsoo takes each little piece of peach offered to him, looking happier than he has since he first woke up. He's got peach juice running down his chin but it's more adorable than anything. Yifan eats a few slices as he cuts up bites for Kyungsoo, sneaky so Kyungsoo doesn't whine or pout. For all his even-temperedness, Yifan's found that his youngest is a greedy little monster when it comes to food.

Yifan cuts up the rest of the peach and drops it onto the highchair, content to let Kyungsoo devour it while he attempts to make scrambled eggs like his husband. Junmyeon is just _so good_ at scrambled eggs, and cookies, and brownies, and spaghetti. Yifan does his best, but he knows Zitao will wait until he's out of earshot to ask for scrambled eggs. Kyungsoo hasn't complained yet, but Yifan's willing to bet that's because he plies the little boy with peaches before feeding him eggs.

"You're going to need a bath, Soo," Yifan says when he turns around and sees Kyungsoo smearing his peach-juice sticky hands all over his own face. "You love peaches, huh?"

Kyungsoo just giggles, coughing just a bit at the end. No tears though. He still has peaches to shove in his mouth, why would he cry? Yifan turns back to the stove and smiles because his son is the noisiest eater he's ever met, blowing spit bubbles between bites and smacking his lips together as he chews. There's a little _unh_ just as Yifan's finishing picking out pieces small enough for Kyungsoo to eat and he turns to see his youngest pouting at him from his now peach-free highchair.

There's also fresh snot running out of his nose, but Yifan shoves that to the back of his mind. He still needs to eat breakfast too and the mucus covering Kyungsoo's face makes him a little queasy. "Eggs for Soo-bear and eggs for Baba. Look, we're eating the same thing," Yifan crows and shows Kyungsoo the scrambled eggs on his plate and the toddler's highchair.

Kyungsoo takes a handful and shoves it at his face, missing his mouth entirely. "Baba! Ah!" Kyungsoo holds out a handful for his father. Yifan can't get sick. He's been alive for centuries and never caught a cold, but he still doesn't want to take the germ-infested bite from Kyungsoo's hand. But Kyungsoo looks so excited and Yifan is so glad to see his baby smile that he takes the eggs and tries not to gag. There are definitely boogers in his mouth. The things he does for his children.

"I want to see you eat some egg, Soo. Baba has some already, that's for you. Understand?" Kyungsoo nods and manages to shove the next handful into his mouth. "Good boy!"

"Mama," Kyungsoo asks as Yifan wipes away the last bits of scrambled egg from the highchair tray. "Mama? Ao?"

As cute as Kyungsoo's pronunciation of his big brother's name is, it has scared the hell out of Yifan more than once. There's nothing like hearing his toddler _screaming_ "Ow!" to send him into fight-or-flight. The first time it happened, Yifan had run over and found Kyungsoo at the bottom of the stairs and screaming his head off. Yifan had picked him up, tried to comfort him and check his little body for injuries, but Kyungsoo just kept pointing up the stairs and yelling like his life depended on it. When Zitao finally poked his head out of his bedroom door, Kyungsoo had stopped crying and put on the biggest smile. " _AoAo,"_ he called.

And that had started Yifan's obsession with teaching Kyungsoo the _t_ sound. Junmyeon thinks it's cute. Yifan thinks his husband is fucking insane.

"Mama's at work with TaoTao, Soo. They'll be home early today though. Should we get you all cleaned up for when they come home?" Kyungsoo nods absently, still looking around like maybe Junmyeon will appear out of nowhere and come hold him.

He still fights the towel Yifan uses to clean off the peach juice and snot from his face though. Yifan knew he would. He'd get upset if someone started rubbing at his nose and mouth with a washrag too. Yifan makes quick work of it, quick as he can with layers of dried mucus, but it's too long for Kyungsoo.

"No! No! No! Baba! No!" One of the Kyungsoo's favorite words. Yifan doesn't hear it all that often because the house is set up for Kyungsoo to roam freely, but when Kyungsoo has the opportunity to use it, he fucking goes for it. He's still chanting it when Yifan gets the last of the snot and pulls the towel away.

Kyungsoo glares at him, new snot dribbling down his face already. Yifan sighs, "You're so grumpy, so grumpy grumpy grumpy. Today is going to be so much fun." Kyungsoo doesn't fuss when Yifan goes to lift him out of the highchair; the same can't be said when Yifan goes to set him on the floor. He screams and kicks his feet, going jelly-legged when Yifan tries to set him on his feet.

"I can't carry you all day!" Kyungsoo sneezes, hiccups like he's going to cry, and sneezes again. "Fine, I guess I can. I'm such a giant softie, Soo, did you know that? Mama says I'm a pushover for you. I think he's right."

Kyungsoo coos against his chest, happy now that he's gotten his way. Like he doesn't get his way most of the time. Yifan's too soft and Kyungsoo knows it.

"So, my little monster," Yifan says as he settles himself on the living room, Kyungsoo looking up at him from his lap and sucking on his own fingers, "what's the plan for today?" Kyungsoo blinks, smiles, and sniffles. "Do I need to put up the baby gate? Are we pulling the longest Winnie the Pooh marathon in history? Are you going to actually watch a new show? You're sick, but you're not an invalid; I know just how much trouble you can get into if I don't watch you."

"Pooh?"

Yifan sits up. Kyungsoo squeaks and launches into a coughing fit when he nearly goes toppling off his father's lap. Yifan would never let him fall. He rubs at Kyungsoo's back until the coughing stops and then he rolls the toddler off his lap until Kyungsoo giggles. "Shit! I have to get your bear out of the laundry room. Do you think you can wait right here for me?"

"Pooh?"

"I'm taking that as a yes. I'll be right back. _Right back_ , Soo. I'm not disappearing into the void or whatever you think happens to me when you can't see me." Yifan eases up off the couch, letting Kyungsoo hold one of his fingers in a chubby little fist as he goes.

Kyungsoo's separation anxiety is _intense_. Baekhyun, babysitting expert and child-whisperer, used to watch Zitao when he was younger and Kyungsoo had been calm enough about letting someone besides Mama or Baba take care of him before his first birthday. And then he turned a year old and only wanted Yifan, Junmyeon, or Zitao. He tolerates other people when he can see Yifan or Junmyeon, but that's it.

As expected, he starts to fuss when Yifan gently pulls his finger free and backs away. Yifan tries to appear calm, completely nonchalant about leaving for a just a moment, but it's so hard. All the mommy blogs he's read say that children feed off their parent's energy, that Kyungsoo will stay calm if Yifan stays calm, but they've never had to look at Kyungsoo's sweet little face and watch big tears well up because _Baba is leaving_.

"I'm just getting your Pooh bear, buddy. I'll be right back. It'll be fine," Yifan does his best imitation of Junmyeon at work and slowly turns towards the hallway. He gets farther than usual, a few steps out of Kyungsoo's sight, before he hears it.

" _Baba!"_ Kyungsoo bursts into tears. Yifan doesn't even need to see it. He's been through this enough. If Kyungsoo isn't crying, Yifan’ll eat his favorite pair of shoes.

Yifan hurries, taking long, long steps into the laundry room. Winnie the Pooh is sitting on the dryer, right where they'd left him. He looks a little less friendly than he did before he went through the washer but he's a lot less snot-covered; Yifan'll take that kind of trade-off.

Kyungsoo is still crying when Yifan comes back. He's trying to climb off the couch but he has to stop every few seconds to cough. His poor baby, so cranky and so sick.

Yifan drops to his knees next to the couch and holds out his arms, "I'm right here, Soo! You don't have to cry!" Kyungsoo toddles over and falls into his chest, pouting and glaring the best he can. "We have to work on that, honey. I know it's normal for your age but I think you take it to the extreme." Kyungsoo glares up at him and sneezes on his shirt in revenge. "I guess I deserved that," Yifan laughs and kisses Kyungsoo's squishy cheeks, "But look who came to see you? Winnie the Pooh!"

Kyungsoo breaks into a smile, grabbing for his stuffed bear and squishing it to his chest. "Pooh," he squeaks, "Pooh, Baba!"

"Yeah, it's Pooh bear, Soo-bear! Baba's so good with rhymes, isn't he?" Kyungsoo will usually humor him, saying _yes_ even if he doesn't know what he's agreeing to. Mostly because anything with the words _Baba_ or _Mama_ mean something good for him. They've really spoiled him, haven't they?

But Kyungsoo ignored Yifan's questions and points to the television. "Pooh," he asks.

"Yeah, Soo, we can watch some TV," Yifan sighs. He never wanted to be a parent that relies on TV to keep his child entertained, but Kyungsoo loves Winnie the Pooh and he _really_ loves to sit in Yifan or Junmyeon's lap when he watches it.

Yifan tosses Kyungsoo onto the couch and grabs a remote and the box of tissues off the coffee table. Kyungsoo squeals as he lands on the couch, bouncing on the cushions. It's Yifan's little secret, tossing Zitao and Kyungsoo like sacks of flour. He waits for the nights Junmyeon goes out with Minseok and Baekhyun and sometimes Luhan – Yifan still isn’t sure why _he_ tags along. On those nights, he covers the living room floor in all the pillows, blankets, and soft things they have in the house and chucks his children onto the homemade crash pad.

Junmyeon would kill him if he knew but Zitao and Kyungsoo love it so much that it's worth the risk.

Kyungsoo scrambles onto his lap once he's resettled on the couch, taking his usual spot for _TV time_. "Pooh! Pooh!" Yifan hums and uses a tissue to wipe up the new snot running down Kyungsoo's face.

"Three episodes, Soo. Then we're going to play or read for a little while." Yifan laughs when Kyungsoo blows a spit bubble in response. "Okay, four episodes. You drive a hard bargain but you're so damn cute."

Yifan does enjoy Winnie the Pooh. He likes that it makes Kyungsoo so happy. He likes that it's easy on the eyes and ears and doesn't have all those flashy graphics that hurt Kyungsoo's eyes. It's not that bad. It's tolerable, like Zitao's Dinosaur Train was. Yifan's favorite part, without a doubt, is how Kyungsoo will let him cuddle and kiss and be affectionate and lovey. Even when the toddler is his unusually independent self, he always lets Yifan cuddle him during Winnie the Pooh.

The episodes pass by in a blur, punctuated by Kyungsoo sneezing or coughing or shifting to get comfortable. Yifan looks after his runny nose the best he can, but Kyungsoo gets fussy after a while and it becomes easier to just let Kyungsoo wipe at his own nose.

The closing credits of the last episode are just starting to roll when the doorbell rings. Someone safe is at the door. Yifan thought demons were just immune to the psychological struggles human's faced. Then, two weeks after the _incident,_ Chanyeol rang the doorbell and Yifan had what Junmyeon told him was a panic attack.

Donna had rung the doorbell that day. Yifan's last coherent memory before waking up to Junmyeon bleeding out is the fucking doorbell. He hates it. He wanted to get rid of it for a long time. But then Junmyeon told their friends to only use the doorbell from then on. One long, long Sunday had been spent with Zitao ringing the doorbell and giving Yifan a hug and kiss every time he opened the door until the doorbell didn't make him scream anymore.

"Who could that be, Soo?"

Kyungsoo looks to the hallway, "Mama? Ao?" Then, screaming because he doesn't understand volume quiet yet, "Mama? Ao?"

"Not Junmyeon, but good guess, kid!" Luhan.

Kyungsoo doesn't make Yifan carry him this time. He just clings to his father's sleep pants as they wander to the front door and open it up. "What are you doing here?"

Luhan pets at Kyungsoo's head, "Minnie told me that the little guy was sick. Wanted to come check on you and make sure you didn't need any help."

Yifan reaches down to smooth Kyungsoo's hair back and his baby leans into the affection. "We've been having a lazy day, haven't we, Soo-bear? Just some cartoons and breakfast so far. And you've been feeling better than last night."

"Mind if I hang around for a little while? Minseok's been at a conference all week and the apartment's lonely without him." Luhan tries to sneak a quick pinch to Kyungsoo's cheek and has to pull his hand back when the toddler tries to bite him. "You're just like your mother, kid. Do you know that?"

Kyungsoo glares from the side of his eye as he buries his face into Yifan's leg.

"Sure, I don't mind. Kyungsoo's cranky though, so be aware that he's more reactive than usual." Yifan waves for Luhan to come inside. He lifts his leg a little and Kyungsoo wraps himself around like a leech. The things he puts up with for his children. Kyungsoo squeals, cackling wildly as Yifan walks down the hall with him clinging to his leg.

"We're going to grab Soo some toys and books from his room and then we'll come back,"

"Sounds good. Do you want me to hit the next episode for Win- for the show," Luhan calls and flops onto the couch, careful to keep his distance from Kyungsoo's bear. Not even Yifan or Junmyeon can get away with holding that thing for more than a few minutes before the toddler has a meltdown, and that's on a good day.

"No, turn it off. We don't like him watching a lot of... the screen. It's for early morning and calm down times." Yifan grabs a few books off Kyungsoo's shelf with his free hand. His other hand is being held hostage by the sheer number of stuffed animals Kyungsoo's shoving into his arms. "Lots of toys today, hm?"

"Uh-huh." Kyungsoo has more stuffed animals in his own arms. How he can even see over the owl in front of his face is an absolute mystery. Yifan's going to have wash that owl tonight too. It's going to covered in snot by naptime. But Kyungsoo toddles back down the hall with all his toys, squeezing them for all his worth so they don't drop. "Baba," he calls, and Yifan follows after him with a sigh.

If he knows his child, and he does, Kyungsoo's not even going to play with them. He's just going to arrange them into a pile, lie down, and demand that Yifan read to him. All Kyungsoo's stuffed animals are obnoxiously soft and fluffy for that exact purpose. They have blankets and pillows for him to lie on; Junmyeon went out and bought a few blankets solely for being the base of Kyungsoo's little nests, not that they see any use.

"What's with all the toys, Soo," Luhan asks, "got a big game planned out?"

Yifan watches Kyungsoo drops his armful of stuffed animals on the living room floor. "No." Kyungsoo flops down onto the pile and makes grabby hands for the toys in Yifan's arms. He lets them fall onto Kyungsoo and crouches down to tickle his belly. "No, Baba! No!" Kyungsoo giggles and pushes helplessly at Yifan's hands.

"But I love to tickle my Soo," Yifan whines, "it's my favorite part of the day!"

"No!"

Yifan pulls his hands back and pouts. Kyungsoo smiles and smiles and smiles. Then he pats the stuffed animals not underneath his body and makes the same pitiful eyes Zitao used to use, the ones Junmyeon helped him perfect. Yifan is trapped in a house full of little emotional manipulators and it's all his fault.

"What is it? Do you want help?" Kyungsoo nods. They've been letting his hair grow out the last few months and it's starting to show. All the baby fine strands flop and frizz when he shakes his head and Yifan's heart might just burst. "Can you say 'help'? Say it with me, ha-el-p. Help. Try it for me, Soo, please?"

Kyungsoo's nose screws up. It always does when he's trying to learn a new word. It's slow-going because they're still months away from the vocabulary explosion but Yifan likes to see what sounds Kyungsoo can make.

"Hep?"

Close enough. Yifan claps and cheers, "Good job! You did it!" And the shy smile on Kyungsoo's face is a sight Yifan wouldn't trade for the world.

"Hep!"

"I would love to help you, Soo." Yifan arranges the other stuffed animals just how Kyungsoo likes them. The toddler wiggles and throws out all his arms and legs until he takes up the entire little pile. "Comfy?" Yifan looks up from where Kyungsoo is wiggling and squirming to see Luhan pointing a his phone at them. "What is it with you and taking videos without permission?"

Luhan blushes, pink spreading across the tops of his cheeks. "That video is the reason you and Junmyeon got together; it's why that little guy is even here! Don't make fun of me for it," Luhan whines. Yifan smiles. Years later and Luhan still gets so worked up about it. Yifan is honestly thankful for that video, not that he'll ever tell Luhan. "Besides, Minseok's been whining about how much he misses the boys and he asked me to get a video or two to tide him over until he comes home next Wednesday."

"Well if it's for Minseok it's okay. Isn't that right, Kyungsoo?" Yifan turns back to Kyungsoo to kiss his cheek and gets hit in the face with a book. "You have to _hand_ people the books," he tries not to groan as he rubs at his nose, "you can hurt people when you throw them." Kyungsoo makes some noise that usually means _book._ "And you don't care because you're not even two years old yet."

Yifan picks the book up off the ground and waves for Luhan to scoot closer. "The next hour is going to be books, Lu, make yourself comfortable."

"He must be sick," Luhan says as he manages to sneak in a single pat on Kyungsoo's belly before the toddler swats at his hand. "He's never this calm when I come over."

Yifan rubs Kyungsoo's tummy, feeling a truly irrational amount of satisfaction when his baby sighs happily and squirms closer. "Being sick takes a lot out of him and he feels better doing quiet things. Come over sometime next week and he'll be back to normal and I'll be chasing him all over the front yard."

Kyungsoo whines and smacks at the book in Yifan's lap. "It's not nice to interrupt a conversation, Soo. Rules are rules even when you're sick." Kyungsoo pouts and sniffles. There's no way a child his age would be able to play up his illness to get out of trouble, right? Yifan wouldn't be surprised given Junmyeon's awful - wonderful - influence on the boys.

Luhan falls asleep before the end of the first book. Kyungsoo tugs at Yifan's sleeve just as Gerald finds out what Piggie's surprise is and points to where Luhan's head has lolled forward. Yifan leans back as far as he can and snatches a blanket off the couch to throw onto Luhan's lap

He understands; he doesn't sleep well when Junmyeon's not around either.

Yifan looks up at the clock when Kyungsoo's eyes start to flutter nearly his entire bookshelf later. Almost eleven. He's only been up for four hours and he's already having to fight to stay awake. Yifan lowers his voice and moves the hand on Kyungsoo's back in soft little circles. Kyungsoo doesn't stand a chance.

Yifan gathers Kyungsoo up in his arms and takes the chance to wipe off the rest of the snot on his face. "So sleepy. It's okay, Soo-bear, Mama will be home soon and then you'll be _so_ happy because you love Mama _so_ much!" Kyungsoo gurgles and twitches in his sleep.

Luhan wakes up as Yifan settles Kyungsoo on the couch with Winnie the Pooh and the panda blanket Zitao gave to him when he grew too tall to use it anymore.

"I'm going to head out," Luhan whispers and grabs his shoes from the little mat by the front door, "Thanks for letting me hang out for a little while with you guys."

"Anytime. You can come over this weekend if you need to too. Zitao likes to sleep with us on the weekends so you could stay in his room until Minseok comes back." Luhan shrugs and his ears turn bright red, but he smiles. He'll be back after dinner tonight and Junmyeon and Yifan will get a free babysitter out of it.

The front door clicks shut and Yifan's all alone with a napping toddler. Yifan could use this time to get some work done. He could put away all the books and stuffed animals, maybe do the dishes and start a load of laundry. But then Kyungsoo coughs in his sleep. So instead of doing anything actually productive with his Friday, Yifan squeezes into the free space on the couch and rubs Kyungsoo's tummy to keep all the bad dreams away.

Junmyeon wakes him up when he comes home for a kiss. "Welcome home," Yifan mumbles, "K'ungsoo's been 'sleep since 'leven. Sorry the house is a mess."

"Go back to sleep," Junmyeon kisses him again, "it's only been half an hour. And don't worry about the house, you've been taking good care of our little boy; he's more important than dishes."

"M'kay..."

"I love you, Yifan."

"Love you too, darling."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, leave a comment and a kudos! Also feel free to come talk to me! I'm killmeDO on [Tumblr,](http://killmedo.tumblr.com/) [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/killmeDO?lang=en) and [Curious Cat!](https://curiouscat.me/killmeDO)


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